Title: The study on economic vulnerability in South China

Authors: Yi-Bing Song; Kun Liao; Yao-Qiu Kuang

Addresses: School of Tourism Management, South China Normal University, 55 Zhongshan Avenue West, Guangzhou 51063, China ' Department of Finance and Supply Chain Management, Central Washington University, 20000 68th Ave W, Lynnwood, WA 98036, USA ' The Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (GIGCAS), 511 Kehua Street, Wushan, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510640, China

Abstract: Vulnerability analysis constitutes an important part to sustainability research. The theoretical system of vulnerability, expanding from geographical or earth science and environmental science to other sciences related to development of human society, is fundamental of building up vulnerability assessment methods. The vulnerability analysis is the practical operations of the assessment methods. This study applies vulnerability analysis and assessment to the economy of South China during a period from 2005 to 2010. This research finds that the average growth of exposure-sensitivity (Si) index is close to twice as the average growth of adaptation capability (Ai) index, indicating the regional development is in a high risk of vulnerability. In addition, Si index of year 2010 dramatically decreased by 88.3% from the previous year's level, which is the first time decrease in six years.

Keywords: economic vulnerability; vulnerability assessment; vulnerability analysis; regional development; China; eco-friendly; environmentally friendly; sustainability; greening; sustainable development; longitudinal studies; economic growth; exposure sensitivity; sensitivity index; adaptation capability; ND-GAIN; Adaptation Index; risk management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBCRM.2014.066163

International Journal of Business Continuity and Risk Management, 2014 Vol.5 No.3, pp.212 - 223

Received: 29 Apr 2014
Accepted: 05 Aug 2014

Published online: 12 Dec 2014 *

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